Tun Hussein Onn
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From Johor Bahru Directory
| Tun Hussein Onn was the 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia (1976 - 1981) who, due to his very sincere struggle for racial unity, was conferred the sobriquet, Bapa Perpaduan (Father of Unity). |
| Fast Facts | |
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| Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Hussein bin Dato' Onn | |
| 3rd Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
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| In office 13 August 1973 – 15 January 1976 | |
| Preceded by | Tun Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman |
| Succeeded by | Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad |
| Born | 12 February 1922 Johor Bahru, Johor |
| Died | May 29, 1990 (aged 68) South San Francisco, United States |
| Resting place | Makam Pahlawan (Heroes Mausoleum) |
| Political party | UMNO |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Religion | Muslim |
| Spouse | Suhailah Tan Sri Noah |
| Children | 2 sons and 4 daughters, including: • Hishammuddin Hussein • Roqiyah Hanim |
| Parents | Dato Onn Jaafar and Datin Halimah Hussein |
Tun Hussein bin Dato' Onn (1922 - 1990) was the 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia, ruling from 1976 to 1981. Viewed as a very sincere leader in his struggle for racial unity, having chalked up a reputation for being firm against anyone who tried to stir racial unrest in the country, he was conferred the sobriquet, Bapa Perpaduan (Father of Unity). It is therefore without doubt that had he been alive, his son Hishammuddin Hussein's kris-waving antics would never have been allowed to happen, much less repeated.
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2. Early life: Born in Johor Bahru, Hussein Onn joined the Johor Military Forces as a cadet in 1940 and was later employed by the British as an instructor at the Malayan Police Recruiting and Training Centre in Rawalpindi, India. He returned to Malaysia in 1945 and was appointed Commandant of the Johor Bahru Police Depot. The following year, he joined the Malayan Civil Service as an assistant administrative officer and was later posted to the state of Selangor to become the district officer of Klang and Kuala Selangor.
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3. Political career: In 1946, Hussein Onn joined his politician father, Dato Onn Jaafar, in forming the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) to further Malay interests in the struggle for independence. He became UMNO's first youth chief in 1949, and its secretary-general the following year. However, Hussein Onn left UMNO in 1951 when his father resigned as UMNO's first president to form the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP). With IMP losing momentum, he went to London to study law at Lincoln's Inn and after being called to the bar in 1960, he returned to then Malaya to practice law in Kuala Lumpur. Hussein Onn returned to politics in 1968, after being persuaded by the then Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, to rejoin UMNO. He won in the 1969 general election and was appointed Education Minister. Hussein Onn's meteoric rise continued when on 13 August 1973, he succeeded the late Tun Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman as the Deputy Prime Minister. On 15 January 1976, Hussein was appointed Prime Minister of Malaysia after the death of Tun Abdul Razak. Renowned for stressing on the issue of unity through policies aimed at rectifying the economic imbalances between the communities, he launched the National Unit Trust Scheme in April 1981. Hussein Onn underwent a coronary bypass in early 1981 and in July that year, retired from active politics. Many believe that he was forced out of office by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.
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4. Latter life: After retiring from active politics, Hussein Onn became an advisor to Petronas, the country's oil company, as well as the Chairman of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS). He continued to contribute to welfare organizations and was instrumental in the setting up of the Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital. During the 1987 UMNO leadership crisis, Hussein became a strident critic of the Mahathir administration. He died in May 1990 in Seaton Medical Center, San Francisco, at the age of 68.
